Maine, Canada share regional economy

A recent op-ed (BDN, July 30, “Bonding promotes American unemployment and greed”) suggests that the current labor shortage in the North Maine Woods is a byproduct of corporate greed and overreliance on “cheap, foreign labor.” In addition to several inaccuracies about the H-2B bonding program, the author, state Rep. Troy Jackson, based his position on the simplified premise that if landowners were just willing to pay more, that there would be plenty of Americans to work in the woods. However, on closer look, this issue is anything but simple. Paying higher wages will not bring workers that don’t exist.

The claim that landowner greed is the sole reason for the labor crisis ignores the facts and perpetuates an “us” against “them” mentality. This does little to build consensus among all stakeholders within the wood supply chain – loggers, landowners, managers and the mills. One link in this chain cannot exist without the viability of the other.

The H-2B bonded labor program is administered by the United States Department of Labor with shared oversight by the Maine Department of Labor. In essence, the program allows employers who are unable to find enough temporary, seasonal workers in their area to recruit qualified foreign workers. But the H-2B bonded labor program, like many federally administered programs, is imperfect. Its long-standing value to the forest products industry should not be judged by the real or perceived infractions of a few.

Under federal hiring guidelines, no H-2B worker can be hired until employers have conducted extensive job advertising and all efforts to hire qualified American workers occur first. If a qualified American logger arrives on the job for an opening after the harvesting begins, the employer is obligated to hire the American at no less than the “prevailing wage” which is set according to annual industry wage survey conducted by the Maine Department of Labor.

In 1999, when it was revealed that some contractors were “inflating” their job openings to allow hiring more H-2B workers later in the season, the state DOL began requiring that contractors also provide a list of the equipment they owned and how many shifts they were operating to better enforce the number of legitimate positions.

Despite Rep. Jackson’s claims that the number of jobs advertised is a “farce,” two bonded labor agents who process more than 80 percent of the state’s H-2B logger applications assert that the 700 workers (not jobs) is indeed, a reliable number. It would be helpful if a reliable means could be found for the state DOL to tally the number of workers who actually are employed annually.

Leasing or subcontracting of Canadian machinery is a legitimate practice. A contractor hiring H-2B workers must provide the necessary equipment. Therefore, if a qualified American shows up for an available position, the contractor is obligated to put the worker in that machine – regardless of ownership – at the prevailing wage.

Rep. Jackson is correct in asserting that the evolution of harvesting equipment from cable skidders and chainsaws to feller bunchers, processors and delimbers warrants that a prevailing wage or rate for such equipment be established. Again in 1999, there was strong consensus among landowners and contractors alike that this would help address the adverse effects on American wages. Then Maine Department of Labor Commissioner Valerie Landry and her staff were willing to establish such a rate but without the support of their federal DOL counterparts to enforce such a wage, the proposal was tabled.

In late June, the Maine Department of Labor cooperated with the Maine Forest Products Council and the Maine Pulp and Paper Association to advertise logging jobs in northern Maine listed with the state’s 20 Career Centers. To date, preliminary reports indicate that the “flood” of eager individuals supposedly interested in such jobs has not materialized – despite the fact that delivered wood prices in many northern markets have risen 20 to 40 percent in the last year.

In addition, the labor shortage has caused a direct spike in operator rates by two to three dollars per hour throughout northern Maine – yet many machines still sit idle.

These facts are supported by the 1999 Pan Atlantic/Irland Study: “Maine Logging Industry and the Bonded Labor Program: An Economic Analysis” that notes “…. raising wages would not attract enough U.S. workers to the logging industry to meet current labor requirements. Demanding working conditions, commuting distances, and other issues mean that the general population views traditional logging work as unattractive, even when it would mean a raise in pay relative to jobs in other industries.” This conclusion was not based on abstract analysis, but on interviews with a large number of American and Canadian loggers.

Northern Maine and Quebec have cultivated a long and prosperous relationship that requires an understanding of rural demographics, availability of skilled labor, and perhaps most of all, the fact that American jobs in many of our paper and saw mills are dependent on Canadian jobs in our forests. It’s been said that Maine and Canada are one regional economy with an international border running through the middle.

As directors of two associations that represent the diverse interests of this regional economy, we can respond with certainty that if we choose to ignore the importance of Canadian labor in our forests – in the long run – we will all suffer the consequences.

Patrick Strauch is the executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council. Patrick Hackley is the Northeast Division Forester for the Forest Resources Association.